The second most important reason that MUSC requires a new strategic plan relates to the impact of managed care, HMO insurance, and the healthcare crisis that accounts for many uninsured patients.. Evolving legislation delineating the respective funding responsibilities of federal and state government programs may place additional financial burden on healthcare institutions, particularly those that are engaged in providing education services, those that maintain research programs, and those that furnish medical services to a large proportion of patients who cannot afford to pay for their share of those services. Therefore, a comprehensive plan must allow for subsequent change within its formulation, because MUSC maintains educational programs and research programs, in addition to serving a large needy and/or uninsured constituency.

Finally, the new plan must address the formulation and integration of comprehensive communications programs designed to educate the MUSC patient community about the full range of MUSC medical services available. Ideally, this will include communications strategies and programs that will educate healthcare workers to communicate with patients in a manner that facilitates their ability to get...

Could you propose a new mission statement for MUSC?
As South Carolina's only comprehensive academic, research and point-of-service health center, the Medical University of South Carolina provides a full range of programs and services in the biomedical sciences that would otherwise be unavailable to many South

Carolinians. The Medical University of South Carolina is dedicated to serving the community by ensuring that all patients get the treatment they need irrespective of their ability to pay. Located on more than 50 acres in the city of Charleston, the MUSC campus serves more than 2000 healthcare students from six colleges and MUSC programs provide essential residency training for more than 500 post graduate healthcare professionals. The MUSC program faculty includes a teaching staff of approximately

850 full-time and 1600 part-time faculty members. Our dedicated staff and faculty are committed to providing the best and most up-to-date programs and to continually adapting to changes in both the science and the need for our services to enable us to achieve the ultimate goal of modern medicine: patient care, health, happiness, and well- being.